Never Going Back
by Seikyn
Summary: Both fleeing the past, two souls are drawn into a centuries-long blood feud. In the struggle for survival and freedom, blood is spilt and death inevitable.
1. Prologue: Decisions, Decisions

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, locations, or items of Final Fantasy VII, they belong to Square-Enix.  
  
Prologue  
  
Decisions, Decisions  
  
"A little piece of paper with a picture drawn  
  
Floats on down the street until the wind is gone  
  
And the memory now is like the picture was then,  
  
When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again"  
  
----------Forgotten by Linkin Park  
  
Dawn broke in the quiet village of Nibelheim. Birds sang their songs, adults rose from their beds, children rubbed the sleep from their eyes in preparation for a brand new day. The simple joys of life permeated the very air in the small hamlet. Yet as the laughter of small children began to ring through the valley the town was situated in, one person was alone. One person still feeling the same sadness he had carried with him for a great many years.  
  
Deep in the bowels of an old, run-down masion, this man stood. In the dank basement levels the old manor where sunlight had never touched. Where emotions such as agony, despair, and fear hung in the air like an impenetrable fog. Every movement of air carried with it the long faded screams of the victims who suffered here.  
  
The dark man stood in the doorway of a small room. Laying on the cold stone floor were several walnut coffins. Heaped in a corner were the bones of those who never made it through their torturous stay in this place of prolonged death. In the center if the room was a single open casket.  
  
(My casket,) the dark man, Vincent Valentine, thought longingly.  
  
Pale-skinned, tall, and thin, the gunslinger wore an expression of indifferance as normally as his black shirt and pants. Raven black hair framed a pale face with eyes with irises as red as the blood that flowed through his body, as red as his scarlet cape and headband. The chisled features of his face, hidden by a tall crimson collar, were not scarred as they used to be many years ago. His scars were instead on the inside.  
  
For countless days since he returned from his adventures, he had stood here. He only left to eat or rest. It seemed he had reached the most critical choice of his life. For days he had contemplated his decision.  
  
(Should I go back?) he thought.  
  
He wondered whether he should return to his coffin, to atone for past sins. If he were to simply fade back to his self torment, he could save others from himself. To return to his nightmares, his only reminders of what he had done to the person he loved most. Since leaving here he could no longer remember the smell of her perfume, the soft sound of her voice, the happiness that always seemed to shine from her eyes.  
  
"Lucretia..." he wispered softly to himself.  
  
In thinking of losing her, he had lost what really mattered. He lost sight of what she wanted for him, for the world. He would have died for her, and technically he had. In thinking of her, he remembered how much she wanted to help the world, how much she wanted everyone around her to live to their fullest.  
  
In the silence around him, he made his choice.  
  
There would be no going back from this point. He would live his life, whether he live forever or a few more days. To dwell in the past would never return her to him, never take back what he did.  
  
Vincent held up his left hand. In the dim light of the doorway, his golden prosthetic hand and arm reflected the light at odd angles. He examined the length of it. He flexed the clawlike fingers of it into a fist. This arm would never again be a symbol of his defeat to the deranged Professor Hojo, but a symbol of his defiance.  
  
With strength possesed by no normal person, he thrust his clawed hand into ceiling just beyond the door way. With all his strength he pulled. With a great rumble slowly crescendoing into a steady roar that lasted several seconds, the ceiling came down. The many tons of soil and rock buried the room and dust poured into the narrow passageway.  
  
-------My Vincent/Yuffie piece is finally getting started. I'd like to thank my best friend Zen -Xegara for his support and insights into the Final Fantasy universe. Please R&R. 


	2. Bookstores and Manors

Chapter One  
  
Bookstores and Manors  
  
"I wanna run away  
  
Never say good-bye  
  
I wanna know the truth  
  
Instead of wondering why  
  
I wanna know the answers  
  
No more lies  
  
I wanna shut the door  
  
And open up my mind"  
  
----------Runaway by Linkin Park  
  
Nibelhiem was dead quiet when Yuffie Kisaragi came into town. That was not unusual, considering the population of the entire town was just under a hundred people. Even though it had gone from about a dozen citizens to about a hundred, the town had retained it's quiet nature.  
  
In the five years since Meteor had ravaged Midgar, Yuffie had become quite a different person. Though she was still her old active self, she had learned control and wasn't considered as annoying to the other members of AVALANCHE. The last time they met, even Cid had said she matured over the last few years.  
  
Yuffie was glad that very few people knew about their part in defeating Sephiroth and Meteor. She used to always love being in the spotlight, but to have people crowding around her like Reeve, the new Mayor of Junon, would be a bit too much for her.  
  
As she wandered down the only street in Nibelheim, she noticed all of the changes that had taken place since her last visit with AVALANCHE years ago. A few new shops had popped up in the last few years. One was selling clothing, another was a brand new Materia shop. She made a mental note to stop by both shops before she left. A few vendors with carts attempting to sell their wares were out on the streets today. The most surprising thing she came across was a book store. The sign above it read "The Knowledge Vault."  
  
Her travels, while not extremely boring, were pretty dull. With the number of monsters dwindling due to the deconstruction of every Mako Reactor on the planet, there really wasn't all that much entertainment on the roads anymore.  
  
(What the heck,) she thought as she opened the door. A bell rang when the door shut behind her. The first thing she noticed was the smell. A torrent of odors hit her all at once. One was the musty scent of old, yellowing pages. Another was the sweet smell of burning wood from the lit fireplace at the other end of the shop.  
  
An attendant came to her side immediatly.  
  
"What can I do for you, Miss?" he asked politely.  
  
"Not a thing, I'm just looking," Yuffie replied.  
  
"I'll be at the front desk if you need anything," he said as he turned and walked away.  
  
Yuffie wandered through the seemingly endless rows of books. Every now and then she would take a book from one of the shelves and flip through it, only to put it back. There were many books that weren't written in any language she recognized. After a time, she came across a book written in Wutaian. The title, when translated, read "Letters to the Daughter." The author was unknown. The entire book was written in a language few could read or even understand. She took this book and sat in one of the plush chairs situated in front of the fire.  
  
She opened the thick book and found a parcel of paper with the word "Forward" printed in plain English. It read...  
  
The contents of this book were found in an abandoned house in Wutai. I have taken the liberty of hand-writing them into this volume. For purposes of clarity, this book is written in the original language in which these letters were written, for in the translation, the meaning and emotion of the printed words are lost.  
  
The letters of a Wutaian general to his only daughter are written here. I have sought out this general and have recieved his permission to sell this book. I have made no corrections to spelling, grammar, and other such things to keep the letters as realistic as possible.  
  
---The Proprietor of the Knowledge Vault  
  
Yuffie stood up and went to the counter. The same attendant was still standing there.  
  
"I'd like to purchase this book," she said.  
  
The attendant took a look at the book's title. "That'll be 1500 gil."  
  
Yuffie dug into her pockets and retrieved the appropriate amount. She turned to leave when a question formed in her mind.  
  
"Who's the proprietor?" she asked tenatively.  
  
"I don't know," he answered. "He only comes in every once in a while, drops off some books, and leaves." The attendant shivered. "He's a really creepy guy, and I don't doubt he has read every book in this establishment."  
  
"Where would I find him?"  
  
"Don't know. He lives somewhere in town. Nobody really sees or talks to him."  
  
"All right, thanks," she said as she walked rom the shop.  
  
The sun had already set behind the mountains as she made her way to the inn. The air had grown crisp and she could see her breath every time she exhaled. Who knew it could get so cold at night here? As she walked, she could see everything that made this place such a good place to live. It was quiet, small, out of the way, and the skies at night were gorgeous. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and stars dotted the heavens like a artist's masterpiece.  
  
Lights blinked out in shops and houses all down the street. Yuffie could see into the windows of some of the houses. In some, mothers were tucking in the children, in others, fathers were reading bed-time stories to young kids. Yuffie felt a pang of sadness and a twinge of envy. Her mother had died many years ago, Yuffie could barely remember her. Since her mother's death, Godo, her father, had been distant. They fought often and never got along. Yuffie had long yearned for a normal family.  
  
Shivering, she opened the door to the Nibel Inn. The heat from the nearby furnace was a welcome change to the biting cold outside. Glad for the temperature change, she smiled and walked happily to the clerk's desk. Upon seeing the he had a customer, he closed the novel he was reading.  
  
"I'm sorry Miss, but we have no vacancies," he said rather flatly. Yuffie could not believe what she was hearing. She angerly stomped her foot on the carpeted floor and stormed out.  
  
Normally, and in any other town, she would have gotten into a huge dramatic argument with the clerk that would have either resulted in her getting someplace to stay or getting kicked out of the place altogather. The difference here was the fact that there was more than one place to stay in Nibelhiem, and she wouldn't have to pay either.  
  
The old Shinra Mansion was just up the street anyway. She started off in a jog and built up to a full sprint. She had found that the easiest way to keep warm in these conditions was to run.  
  
As she sprinted down the cobblestone street, she caught sight of the mansion over the roof of a small building and was slightly diappointed and surprised at what she saw.  
  
In one of the windows on the upper story the glimmering light from a single candle would be seen.  
  
With a selfish laugh she went straight to the door. She was not really aware of walking or running or a bit of both to the large hardwood door. It seemed to get colder every moment she was outside. She knew this was merely an illusion, for she was not used to cool weather. What was essentially a relatively cool, comfortable night to the normal inhabitants, was a biting cold to her.  
  
Without even knockng on the door, she turned the brass door knob and, surprisingly, the door opened. What startled her more was the fact that the door opened rather silently. A slight odor emenated from the hinges, meaning the door was freshly oiled. She decided the owner of the place either had way to much time on his hands, or had an army of servants to do his every wish.  
  
Yuffie stumbled numbly into the interior of the seemingly ancient manor. She immediately closed the door behind her and studied the place in which she had ended up in.  
  
The mansion was almost the same as it had been when she was here last. The floorboards were clean and had been waxed recently. There was no sign of any dust or cobwebs in the entire atrium. The boards that made up the staircase were newer, for they did not show many signs of wear and tear. All of the building she could see was clean.  
  
In the dim light she could see one figure standing at the top of the staircase. She immediately recognized the man studying her from afar. Wearing a dark shirt and pants that covered his thin demeanor, the man stared. Her gaze traveled to study his face. The handsomely chisled features contrasted with his sunken eyes. His crimson eyes bore no emotion as they seemed to penetrate her to her core and pierce her soul with the pain that did not show, but everyone knew was there. His ghostly white skin, framed by long raven hair, seemed to have a sort of transparacy to it. His prosthetic left arm gleamed in the low light as it hung loosely at his side.  
  
"State your name and purpose for interrupting my solitude," his tones were dark and , as always, he went straight to the point.  
  
Deep down, Yuffie was hurt that he had not recognized her. She wasn't surprised he hadn't, actually. She had traded in her old outfit for something a little simpler. She now wore tan khaki jeans and a shirt the same shade as her jeans. She also wore a faded dark green vest with many pockets. Her beloved Conformer hung from a thick green belt around her waist.  
  
"Vincent," she pleaded, "It's me, Yuffie. Don't you remember?"  
  
Vincent Valentine nodded and came slowly down the stairs. Every step he took seemed so precise to Yuffie. It was as if he was confident every step was a step in the right direction.  
  
Vincent walked right up to her and stared at her with with his deep red eyes. She suddenly felt cold as she stared back into them.  
  
"Why are you here?" he inquired without a trace of curiosity.  
  
His eyes narrowed and Yuffie felt as if he was staring into her soul for any sign of deception.  
  
"I was cold," she answered truthfully, "And the inn had no vacancies. I thought this place was empty."  
  
He seemed to accept this answer. When he turned away Yuffie felt as if a great weight had been removed from her chest. She never knew why he seemed to have this effect on her.  
  
"You can stay as long as see fit," he said as he walked away. Yuffie jogged up to walk beside him as he began to climb the stairs. "You may stay in the guest room. The entire building is yours to explore if you wish."  
  
Vincent pointed to his left when he reached the apex of the stairway. "Your room is down that hall, inside the old room that once housed the safe."  
  
Vincent turned right and went into his room in the East Wing, leaving Yuffie outside his closed door.  
  
The room assigned to her was not as she had expected, creepy and dark. Thick navy blue carpet covered the linolium floor. The walls were made of an expensive wooden panelling with a fixture for a trio of candles on every wall. A dark hardwood desk and chair sat in one corner across the room from the door. A large four-poster bed was wedged against the wall near a window.  
  
Dropping her belongings at the foot of the bed, she fell onto the lush matress. She found that while lying there was given a spectacular view of the night sky over the Nibel Mountains. The sight was comforting, as it reminded her of the Da-Chao Mountains back home.  
  
In a few minute she fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.  
  
---------Chapter One finally complete. I spent quite a lot of time writing this one. Anyways, please R&R. 


	3. Hidden Conflicts

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, locations, or items of Final Fantasy VII, they belong to Square-Enix. I also do not own Ramen Noodles.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Hidden Conflicts  
  
"Discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me  
  
Distracting,  
  
Reacting,  
  
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection  
  
It's haunting..."  
  
----------Crawling by Linkin Park  
  
Darkness had long since crept into the many hidden valleys and deep crevaces of Wutai. The nation had already fell into innocent dreams and silent slumber. One small group was set apart. A ninja clan that had etched a hard living from the inhospitable wastelands of Southern Wutai. Their leader was like no other, with a hatred that burned like dying embers in a campfire. Bright but subdued.  
  
Shadows set this man apart. They set him apart from every person around him. The shadows created that fine line between a living man and a dead one.  
  
A deathly visiage was his face. Pale skin contrasted sharply with dark, deep scars, sunken eyes whose iris's were white as the moon, and shocking white hair. Tall and lean, an aura of power hung around him in a thick mist. Stainless white robes and armor covered him from head to toe.   
  
He had confidence.  
  
He had experience.  
  
He was powerful.  
  
He was feared, revered, hated, and loved.  
  
He was the Juuka-Saer, leader of the Juuka-Sa, the Chosen of Leviathan.  
  
As leader of the Kasadra Ninja Clan, the clan he himself declared to be the Juuka-Sa, he would lead them to victory over their mortal enemies.  
  
A monitor came to life before him. It's luminous screen lighting him in unwanted attention. The screen showed a young man. They could have been twins if the age difference wasn't so obvious. The man on-screen looked just like the Juuka-Saer, except for the lack of scars and his eyes. One iris white, the other scarlet.  
  
"Report," the Juuka-Saer said quietly.  
  
"Brother," The man began, "I have found her. I await only your order to move."  
  
The Juuka-Saer smiled. "I want her as soon as possible, and I require her alive."  
  
The younger man nodded.  
  
"Brother, before we sign-off, may I ask a personal question?"  
  
"Of course, anything for my kin," the Saer replied.  
  
"How do you fare, Nejaa? he asked, using his brother's real name instead of his title.  
  
Nejaa sighed, "For now I am fine. We will speak of this when you return from your mission, young Tajiri."  
  
"I am glad to hear that. I will return triumphant very soon."  
  
Tajiri bowed his head and signed off.  
  
Nejaa sagged across his throne in weariness.  
  
"My burden is heavy, brother," he said to the dark terminal. "It grows with every passing day. If you do not succeed, I am lost."  
  
***  
  
Another sunrise in quiet Nibelhiem. As the sun rose above the peaks to the east, Vincent Valentine rose from his slumber to carry on with another day. His room was styled like many of the other rooms in the mansion. Except his walls were paneled with wood from walnut trees, giving him the dark effect he had wanted.  
  
Every day he rose with the sun. The large window he had cut in the wall gave him full view of the rising sun. The many colors of the sunrises served to remind him of the beauty the world still had. The way the streaks of light innocently danced in the morning and at dusk reminded him that every day was to be worthwhile, and he couldn't waste any of them sleeping.  
  
He found that he liked to watch the sun rise. Every time he saw it he was filled with a feeling of renewal, of purity. It was his time. His time to reflect on the parts of life he had once enjoyed. He thought about many things. But mainly, he thought about his times with AVALANCHE. He would never admit it to anyone, but those were the happiest times of his life.  
  
The smallest smile crossed his face. As he stood, he quickly changed his expression the one he had worn for years. The same expression of neutrality. He wore the same outfit he had the day before. He hadn't cared to change. In fact, sometimes he wore the same clothes day in and day out for weeks.  
  
Vincent turned from the window and took a step towards the door when he heard a small voice sound out from behind him.  
  
"Vincent..." the voice said softly.  
  
Vincent turned to stare at his reflection in the window. Instead of seeing his own face looking back at him, he saw the face of Chaos. Vincent's eyes narrowed when he saw the creature that shared his mind and body.  
  
"You can't keep ignoring me," the face said.  
  
"What is it you want, demon?" Vincent snapped angerly. He didn't understand it, why seeing Chaos made his blood boil, why seeing that face made him lose his temper so fast his head spun.  
  
"The same things you want," Chaos said off-handedly. Vincent shook his head and said nothing.  
  
"You're still denying it?" the demon continued. "I know we would have had a hard time believing it back then, but I thought you would have grown wiser."  
  
Vincent shook his head again and put his right hand, his real hand, on his hip and retorted, "Must you always bother me with the same repetitive themes every time we speak?"  
  
Chaos paused, seemingly to study Vincent's reaction, but no emotion came from the stoic gunman.  
  
"What did you think?" the creature said apprehensively.  
  
"About what?" came Vincent's aggrevated reply.  
  
"About her."  
  
Vincent shrugged off the question.  
  
"So what did you think?" came Chaos' question once again.  
  
Vincent chose to remain silent. He didn't need to deal with these annoyances right now.  
  
"We both know I won't drop the subject until I have an adequate answer," the voice of the demon said. "Don't lie to me, I'll know."  
  
Vincent wanted nothing more than get out of this conversation and never have to finish it. He deperately racked his brain for an acceptable answer.  
  
"She," he began slowly, " has grown up quite a bit."  
  
Chaos laughed.  
  
"Silence beast!" Vincent raised his voice a bit and the words came out forcefully.  
  
"So you're defending her now?" Chaos' question came out smugly. "Are you getting attached to her already?"  
  
VIncent didn't even bother to answer, for he knew Chaos expected no answer. Vincent knew in his heart that he could not be like this forever. He knew what Chaos wanted.  
  
"Let me be," he said at last.  
  
A knock at his door brought him out of his reverie. He paused.  
  
"Yes?" he inquired after opening his door. He quickly glanced back at the reflection in his window, Chaos was laughing.  
  
"Whoa Vince," came Yuffies reply as she stared over his shoulder and into his room. "And I though I had a nice view."  
  
Apparently she couldn't see Chaos in Vincent's reflection.  
  
Vincent impatiantly tapped his foot on the floor. "First, do not call me anything other than Vincent, my name. Second, state your buisness and do not waste my time with idle chatter. I have much to do."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Where's the bathroom in this place?" Yuffie asked hurriedly. Vincent pointed to door at the opposite end of the hall to the West Wing.  
  
"I thought that was a greenhouse or something," she said off-handedly.  
  
"I have done some remodeling in my time here."  
  
"Thanks Vince," She called to him as she ran to the small room down the hall. Vincent merely shook his head and looked back at his reflection. Chaos was still laughing.  
  
Vincent walked down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for himself and Yuffie.  
  
Compared the overall size of the Shinra Mansion, the kitchen was quite small. Situated in a small room on the bottom floor, the kitchen was connected to the Grand Dining Hall in the West Wing by a long hallway that ran across the entire bottom floor. Vincent had made that room presentable, but he preferred to eat in the much smaller and less elegant secondary dining room that adjoined the kitchen.  
  
The stores of the mansion had been stocked with only one thing, Ramen Noodles. This Vincent didn't mind. His days were pretty much spent in a monotony solitude, so eating the same thing every day for every meal never bothered him.  
  
The soup was almost ready when he heard Yuffie coming down the stairs. He didn't even move to look at her as she came through the door while complaining about him not having a mirror in the bathroom. He shook his head at the pestering inquieries she made about his choice of breakfast food and other little things like that. It didn't seem to occur to her that he wasn't really listening to anything she said.  
  
Vincent poured the noodles and broth into two bowls and set them on the table in the next room. They ate in silence, or as silent as it could get around Yuffie. Vincent, who ate slowly and politely was absolutely repulsed by the way Yuffie ate her food. She slurped and up the noodles and inhaled the broth like she had not eaten in days. She had finished by the time he had even finished half of his bowl.  
  
All complaints forgotten, Yuffie leaned back leisurely in her chair.  
  
"What are you doing today, Vince?" she said as he ate.  
  
Vincent chose not to dignify that with an answer, so he remained silent. He did, however shoot her a warning glance upon hearing her butcher his name once again.  
  
A long silence followed.  
  
"I think I'm gonna go shopping today," she said to no one in particular. She looked at Vincent, who was finishing his soup.  
  
"Do as you wish," Vincent said as he stood up and left her alone in the dining room.  
  
***  
  
Yuffie sat in silence at the table after Vincent left. His tone had made it clear that he didn't care whether she left or stayed.  
  
To be honest she couldn't stand Vincent's indifferent behavior. She hated the fact that he just didn't care.  
  
She decided not to let it bother her too much. She figured he'd have had to through some hard times while being experimented on.  
  
(We've all been through something we'd rather forget,) she thought as she went back to her room.  
  
She opened the door of her room and quickly gathered some of the things she'd need for today's shopping trip.  
  
After collecting some extra gil from her pack and strapping the Conformer to an easily accessable place on her belt, she decided to head out.  
  
"Vincent," she called when she was at the top of the stairs in the atrium.  
  
"Vincent?" she called again. She only wanted to let him know she was going out.  
  
Silence greeted her inquiries.  
  
Looking around, she saw hat Vincent's door was slightly ajar. Being Vincent, he was probably doing whatever it is he does in his room. She crept up to his door and peered through the crack. She only saw a normal room, but no Vincent.  
  
She crept into the room. Dusty books littered the room.  
  
It shocked her to see that everything in his room was so...normal. There was nothing in this place that didn't belong, except for the cleverly diguised door to the basement.  
  
Curious, she pushed the bricks back and stepped into the darkness beyond.  
  
As her eyes adjusted to the light, or lack-there-of, she was amazed. The old sloping planks had been replaced by an ornate staircase. The walls were spotless and the general gloom was lessened.  
  
Yuffie made her way down the spiral path before her. Her hand gripped the polished wood of the railing tightly as she made her descent. Yuffie hoped that he didn't spend his time in his coffin down here. She thought there was nothing more pathetic than the way Vincent wallowed in his self-pity.  
  
She thought Vincent was a little frightening and creepy at times, but mentioning Lucretia in his presence would dissolve that facade in a heartbeat.  
  
The corridor at the bottom of the stairwell had changed drastically as well. Yuffie saw no sign of the old basement that was once here, but a new place she could not have imagined Vincent making.  
  
Row upon row of shelves piled with books of various subjects lined the walls. In the floor many polished cobblestones had been set. Their reflective surfaces glimmered in the flickering light cast from the candles above her head. The silver chandeliers that cradled the delicate light sources sparkled in the luminating glow of the many dancing points of flame.  
  
Yuffie saw no sign of life in this hallway, nor did she see the door to the room where AVALANCHE had found him. She contined on her way to the old lab.  
  
The door creaked as she opened it.  
  
"Identify yourself," she heard Vincent's voice, along with the sound of metal scraping against leather and a barely audible click.  
  
"It's just me," she answered as she stepped into the room.  
  
Vincent was sitting in one of two recliners in the center of the room. Like the hallway coming into the room, there were bookshelves filled with numerous pieces of literature. All of the lab equipment had apparently been removed and disposed of. In their place were a pair of plush-looking lounge chairs and a low coffie table between them.  
  
Vincent, still sitting in one of the chairs, clicked the safety of the Quiksilver on and slid the pistol back into the holster at his hip. He then picked his book up from the table and began reading.  
  
"I'm gonna go out for a while, okay. I'll be back later."  
  
Vincent didn't look up, but nodded.  
  
Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. I would have had this chapter up earlier, but I recently had surcgury on my hand, thus slowing down my typing. I hope this chapter turned out a little better than I think it did, but hey, there's always room for improvement. Please R&R. 


	4. Experssion and Conflict

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, locations, or items of Final Fantasy VII, they belong to Square-Enix.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Expression and Conflict  
  
"Everything you say to me  
  
Takes me one step closer to the edge  
  
And I'm about to break  
  
I need a little room to breathe  
  
'Cause I'm one step closer to the edge  
  
And I'm about to break"  
  
----------One Step Closer by Linkin Park  
  
Silent as shadow, swift as a bolt of lightning, such was the lesson that had been burned into his mind since he was born, since he could walk, since he could talk. The light of the was his friend today, the bustle of the small crowds in Nibelhiem's streets his cloak.  
  
Garbed in a cloak he was, both metephorically and literally. Tajiri fingered the hilt of the wakizashi, which he had named Soul Force, that lay hidden in the endless folds. He had spotted his prey long ago, but, like a patient hunter, waited for the appropriate moment to claim his prize.  
  
As he waded through the people of the marketplace, he made a mental note of everyone she talked with, everywhere she went, and everything she bought. He also studied her armament and any small movement she made. He had been taught long ago that he should be aware of everything about his target. Some things revealed strengths or weaknesses, others offered opportunities to guage reaction times and reflexes.  
  
So far he had decided that Yuffie Kisaragi was very well trained indeed. He studied her graceful movements as she had made her way through this small town. She seemed very confident, and so far he could see no falter in her competent step. She was also very attentive.  
  
He had figured that she would know she was being followed, but he hadn't expected her to notice so soon.  
  
He watched as she turned away from one of the vendors in the street, and towards him. For a brief moment their eyes met, and she scowled at him from afar.  
  
Muttering a curse under his breath, he quickly made his way towards her. She walked away quickly without taking a second look at him. Tajiri followed until she disappeared down a cluttered, narrow alley. He took a deep breath as he turned the corner.  
  
He saw nothing down the alley. It was quiet. He gripped the Soul Force tighter as he readied for an ambush.  
  
It never came.  
  
Tajiri let out a sigh and tuned from the alley. He was about to walk away, but heard the tell-tale whir of a quick, airborne object.  
  
Spinning miraculously fast, he drew the Soul Force and deflected the shuriken that was intent on splitting his head. A metallic clang resounded throughout the narrow confines of his current position, and the Conformer flew back to it's owner, a disgruntled Yuffie Kisaragi. She scowled and said nothing.  
  
"Yuffie Kisaragi," Tajiri said, his voice just above a whisper, "I am a warrior of the Juuka-Sa, my master requires an audience with you."  
  
Yuffie laughed. "Go with you? I don't think so. Your other lackies weren't very polite so I'll have to decline."  
  
Tajiri removed his cloak to reveal his black armor. "I'm afraid I have my orders and your consent is not required, only you."  
  
He slid the blade silently into it's sheathe. That done, he charged bare-handed.  
  
Yuffie was completely taken aback when the mysterious warrior sheathed his sword before attaking her. It took her opponent mere seconds to close the long gap between them, and before she knew it, the man tackled her to the ground. Yuffie struggled underneath her aggressor as his hands reached for her neck. He was so far unsuccessful due to her constant wriggling.  
  
Yuffie struggled, but to no avail, for the man in black armor nearly had his strong hand on her neck. With out thinking, Yuffie lashed out with her knee into her assailent's groin. Her powerful strike was met with a metallic clang and, to her disappointment, only a slight grunt of pain from the mysterious man.  
  
Yuffie gritted her teeth and let go of one of his hands, his free hand darted to her throat and an instant later, she could feel her conciousness slipping away. Through the haze she managed to bring her hand up and slap it open-handed into the man's face.  
  
He let out a cry as the bones in his nose shattered. He sat up and began clutching his face in pain. Yuffie, regaining her composure, grabbed the front plate of his armor and tossed him off of her. She paid no attention to where he landed and, quickly swiping the Conformer from where it had fallen from her grasp earlier, quickly rose to her feet.  
  
By the time she turned to face him again he was already on his feet. He had already settled into a defensive position, a small smile upon his face, even though blood slowly streamed from his now broken nose.  
  
"Impressive, I had hoped you would offer me a challenge," he said.  
  
Yuffie smirked at him and whipped the Conformer at his face once again. With impossible speed he leaped out of it's path and stuck itself into the brick wall of the alley. He charged again, but she was ready this time.  
  
As he neared she unleahed a powerful side-kick into his chest. Instead of stopping outright and falling over as she hoped, he stopped short and caught her foot with both of his hands. His foot then lashed out and caught her in the back of her knee, causing her to collapse. Yuffie hit the ground hard and rolled backward, breaking his hold on her foot, and jumped back to her feet.  
  
A third time, he charged.  
  
In his rage he came at her with both arms extended. As he neared Yuffie sidestepped his advance and grabbed his right arm with both hands and hyper-extended his already locked out elbow joint. She was rewarded with hearing an audible crack and seeing her opponent's arm bent at a gross angle to which it had never been meant to bend. He screamed in pain and she used his momentum to guide him into a wall. After a sickeningly fleshy thud, he was silent and fell to ground, unconcious.  
  
Yuffie breathed a sigh of relief, but knew she had to get moving soon. These people had been after her for years, even before the Meteor Crisis, and they always attacked in groups of three or more.  
  
While retrieving the Conformer, she felt a slight twinge of irony at the fact it these people, the Juuka-Sa, were the reason she had even hooked up with AVALANCHE in the first place. They had chased her out of Junon and she fled into the forested mountains just south of that city. She may have never attacked AVALANCHE if it hadn't been for the fact that she had been in hiding for a few weeks and was running low on supplies. She wondered why they hadn't been more aggressive while she was off on that grand adventure all those years ago. They were watching, she was sure of that, for she had seen some of them on several occasions. She didn't quite understand it, they leave her alone for all that time and, about three years prior to the vurrent day, came after her with increased fury.  
  
It also troubled her that during all those years, she hadn't even known what affiliation they all had with each other, before today she didn't even have the name of the group that wanted her captured. Another thought occured to Yuffie as she ran with all possible speed back to the mansion, not one other hunting party from this mysterious band of ninja warriors ever made any kind of vocal sound. Not one before the one on this day had ever spoke, or even screamed, moaned, or grunted in pain. Yet that guy did. Somehow she found it frighteningly intriguing.  
  
After a bit of a struggle, Tajiri Kasadra regained conciousness. The defeated ninja sat up and let out a groan. He tried to move his right arm, but only recieved a shot of searing pain. Slowly he hauled himself to his feet. A little dizzy from the hefty amout of bloodloss and what could be a potential concussion limited his movement at first, but he soon learned to cope.  
  
Tajiri stumbled over to where his coak lay. Near it he found a puddle of clear water. Staring at his reflection, he took inventory of his wounds.  
  
His nose was smashed almost flat and looked intensely grotesque, but it at least stopped bleeing, for now. The rest of his face was cluttered with all types of cust and bruises. Some of those cuts were still bleeding freely. He already knew his elbow was dislocated and that he would have to set it later but before the swelling grew worse.  
  
With his left hand only, he tore strips of cloth from his cloak and fashioned them into makeshift bandages. When he was finished most of his face was covered. He also made a temporary sling for his arm before he set out for the inn. Luckily, it was only a few dozen yards from the mouth of the alley he was in.  
  
He knew he had failed, and Nejaa would find that unacceptable.  
  
Ignoring the the stares of the few curious pedestrians on the street, Tajiri made his way into the local inn where he had procured shelter for himself since Yuffie Kisaragi had fled Wutai. He knew she would flee to this quaint town, for it was the nearest place where she could resupply before disappearing into any deep forest she chose to lose herself in while running from the inevitable.  
  
Tajiri pushed the door in slowly and called to the innkeeper.  
  
"Get me my chocobo," Tajiri ordered.  
  
"But sir," the innkeeper replied at seeing some of Tajiri's wounds, "I cannot allow you to travel with such wounds. You must see the town doctor."  
  
"My chocobo," Tajiri repeated, uncharacteristically losing his temper with the small man before him. To his annoyance, the inkeeper shook his head.  
  
One flawless motion and a swift stroke from the Soul Force removed that shaking head from it's body. The female receptionist gasped in horror as the headless body fell to the floor and blood flowed freely from the neck. Tajiri glared at the receptionist and pointed the bloodied blade at her face.  
  
"Bring me my chocobo," he said sternly. She hesitated in fear for a moment and then motioned for him to follow her.  
  
Before following her out of the room he turned around. A disgusted look came to his face as he spied the headless body on the floor and the bodyless head that had rolled into the far corner. This man's blood was on his hands. He didn't have to kill that man, he hadn't wanted to kill him. For the first time in years he had let his anger take control, and now an innocent had died for Tajiri's lack of disapline.  
  
An exhausted Yuffie slumped to the floor after closing the thick door of the Shinra Masion behind her. She sat on the floor, leaning against the door, lost in her own thoughts for a while, when she heard the most peculiar sound echoing into the atrium.  
  
It was the soft sound of music that interrupted her troubled thoughts as she sat alone in that place. The flowing rhythm and soft notes that crescendoed and died, repeating in the same way over and over helped to soothe her uneasy mind find a somewhat unexplicable, temporary peace.  
  
Yuffie stood and traced the entrancing sound back to it's source. Yuffie had only been in the mansion a few times when she was with AVALANCE, and she remembered there was a broken piano somewhere on the ground floor of the West Wing. As she made her way across the wide atrium to the Grand Dining Hall she shook her head. That ancient instrument would never be able to produce such an amazing sound, and she didn't care how good the musician was. She couldn't help but to smile to herself when memories of Cloud attempting to play it on one of the occasions they were here. She had to admit it was one of their estranged leader's many hilarious screw-ups.  
  
The door to the Dining Hall opened silently and she was amazed. Vincent sat on the bench of an astonishingly new grand piano. His scarlet eyes were closed and he seemed oblivious to her presence as he played. Yuffie had never heard such moving music in her life, but then again, she had been on the run for so long that normal things in a teenager's life such as music had simply been forgotten or ignored, for she more pressing concerns. Things such as when would she sleep next, where is her next meal coming from, and all of her other spare time was spent training in the ninja's secret arts.  
  
What surprised her most was the fact that Vincent wore a content smile on his face as he played. While wrapped in his own music he seemed to let go of everything that troubled him. He looked as if the nightmares he had faced were nothing in comparison to the pure emotion echoing through the empty halls of old building of death. He played as if the demons beneath his skin were mere illusions.  
  
Like all good things, the music drew to a close. Vincent merely sat on the bench after the last note had died into silence, the smile still adoning his normally expressionless features.  
  
"Beautiful," Yuffie commented in awe.  
  
Vincent, suddenly aware of his company, reacted instantly. The smile erased itself on a heartbeat and his eyes flew open. He quietly stood.  
  
"I never knew you could play," Yuffie said uncomfortably.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Are you just going to ignore me now?"  
  
To her surprise, he walked right up to her and stared into her eyes.  
  
"It helps," he said quietly, speaking of the music. "It is the only form of expression left to me now."  
  
He left the room and Yuffie was left to stand, staring at the piano, alone.  
  
-------My first fight scene, I think it could still need a little work. If anyone has any tips at these battle scenes, I could use them, because I know that there's going to be a few more in the coming chapters. Once again, please R&R. 


	5. Take Me Far Away

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, locations, or items of Final Fantasy VII, they belong to Square-Enix.  
  
Chapter Four  
Take Me Far Away

"Like a face that I hold inside  
A face that awakes when I close my eyes  
A face that watches every time I lie  
A face that laughs every time I fall  
And watches everything  
So I know when it's time to sink or swim  
The face inside is hearing me  
Right beneath my skin"  
-----------Papercut by Linkin ParkVincent slowly slid round after round of ammunition into one of the many clips for his beloved Death Penalty. He had just finished field stripping and cleaning the ancient rifle in preparation for his next journey. The rifle's dark barrel shined in the low light cast from the fireplace before him. The polished hardwood stock that made up the rest of the weapon gleamed and the flickering light danced across the many small runes etched in the wood above the fire selector.  
  
He was so engrossed in the maintinence of his most prized possession that he almost did not notice Yuffie's footsteps as she came down the steps. He didn't even look up when she plopped down in the chair adjacent to his. He finished loading the clip and smoothly loaded it into the weapon.  
  
"I have to tell you something," she said tenatively.  
  
Vincent looked up at her, and for the first time actually gave her his full attention.  
  
"The other day, when I heard you playing the piano, I was attacked in the streets before I came back," she confessed.  
  
Vincent remained silent, taking in this new information.  
  
He also remained perfectly still and quiet during her recitation of the events of the fight and what he had told her.  
  
"The wierd thing about it is, they have been chasing me since before the whole mess with Sephiroth and Meteor," she finished.  
  
Vincent sat back in his chair. What did it all mean? Yuffie obviously didn't know, and she must want his help to figure it out.  
  
But why me? he thought bitterly.  
  
She could have sought help from any of her other friends from AVALANCHE, but she came to him. Maybe she was pinned and didn't have anywhere else to go, and she reached out to the closest estranged loner for help. He didn't think that likely. Rocket Town was far closer to Wutai and Cid was rumored to still be there, however, Vincent wasn't sure of this, as he had not talked to the the Man of Many Curses in years. She must have come to him purposefully, but he could only guess what went through her mind.  
  
"You want my help?" was the first thing he said.  
  
"Please," she pleaded, "you're the only one I could trust with this."  
  
"Why not someone else, like Cloud or Cid?"  
  
"They never took me seriously before, and I already asked Cid, he thought I was jumping at ghosts."  
  
"I imagine his language was more colorful and elaborate than the way you describe it," the words came out before he realized what he was saying.  
  
The words hung in the air. Yuffie gave him a startled expression and stared at him, wild-eyed.  
  
"Vince, did you just make a joke?" she asked with apparent awe in her voice.  
  
Vincent's lips formed a thin line as the laughter of Chaos resounded in his head. Then and there he knew that he was losing control of the demon. The fact that Chaos had been able to force him to say something astounded him.  
  
"I've never heard you say something like that before," she continued. "I always thought you were just plain dead in the humor department."  
  
That struck a nerve.  
  
His face suddenly darkened and he stood up. While turning towards the burning fire, he said, "Leave me."  
  
"But..." she began.  
  
"Go!," his quiet voice was suddenly loud and hateful. It then dropped back to it's usual volume, just above a whisper. "We need a plan, and I must think. Now leave me."  
  
Startled, she left the room with no complaints.  
  
Immediately after he heard the door shut behind her, he began rummaging through the many books upon his shelves. When he did not find the particular item he sought, he threw whatever book he held to the floor. After many minutes of this he finally found what he sought.  
  
Vincent removed from a high shelf at the back of the room that was once Professor Hojo's office. Dust covered the book's spine and obscured the title. With a quick rub of his hand Vincent removed the dust and dirt to reveal the title, Through the Looking Glass. Vincent had thought that title to be very apt for what he concealed between the front cover and the first page.  
  
He stalked quietly to his reading chair in the main room. After setting the book on the table near the Death Penalty, he stared at it apprehensively. After shaking off his momentary fear, he opened the cover and stared down. There, sitting on the first page, was a reflective shard no bigger than the palm of Vincent's real hand. The shard was a piece of the first mirror in which he had seen Chaos in place of himself. In a fit of anger he had beat upon that mirror with both hands, real and prosthetic. This one piece was all that remained, for the rest was, impossibly, shattered to splinters and spread across the plains south of Nibelhiem.  
  
He leaned towards that shard and spoke to it.  
  
"Chaos, what are you doing to me?"  
  
Yuffie had retreated to the safety of the hallway after Vincent's outburst. His sudden display of raw emotion had caught her completely off guard. The confusion she saw deep in his eyes greatly disturbed her. He always seemed so in control and calm that to see such confusion and hopelessness in him only fueled her own paranoid thoughts.  
  
She quickly tired of waiting, and decided to put her ninja skills to use. She crept silently to the heavy wooden door to look through the keyhole. For a while she could see nothing at all, only the sounds of rustling paper and dull thuds as some particularly heavy objects hit the cobblestone floor.  
  
She was about to leave when Vincent finally came into view. He held a thick leather-bound volume on his metal hand, and was wiping away a thin film of dust from the cover with his other one. He sat at his usual chair and put the book on the table before him. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but shook his head just before carefully opening the front cover and removing a small, thin object from the first page.  
  
He was turned towards her, so, as he inspected it, she could not see what it was, and therefore Yuffie had no idea what the object was. All she knew was that it was incredibly thin, could fit in the palm of her hand. These facts canceled it as a materia orb, and she so she ignored it and studied Vincent.  
  
His attention was fixed on the object in he hand, and emotions flickered on and off his face as if he were a television with it's channel being changed every half-second. Many expressions splayed across his delicate features in the course of a few seconds. It looked as if he were angry, sad, in pain, and joyous all at the same time and his face was trying to reflect those emotions all at the same time.  
  
Yuffie intently studied his facial exressions, for she knew she would probably never see any of them again. Yet she was so zeroed in on his face that she completely forgot about what he held in his hands until he began speaking to it.  
  
"Chaos," he said in a sad and desperate tone, "What are you doing to me?"  
  
Yuffie's mouth nearly dropped to the floor. Had he completely lost it?  
  
His eyebrows furrowed in an expression of puzzlement.  
  
"What does that mean?" he asked the empty room.  
  
He paused, as if listening to someone. He frowned.  
  
"What I already know?" another question. "What is this about?"  
  
His face turned angry.  
  
"Yuffie and I? Leave her out of this!" the sound of his voice came out in a forced tone.  
  
He hung his head as if being scolded for being caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. When he next spoke, his tone was one of sadness and of regret.  
  
"I do have feelings for her," he admitted to no one but himself, "But that is all it is, a feeling. My feelings only get the people I love hurt or killed."  
  
Yuffie was throttled by his sudden confession. She never thought, not in a thousand years, that he would ever feel anything for anyone, especially her. She had developed a small crush on him while hey journeyed togather, but she never acted on it.  
  
After a long while, Vincent spoke again, "But I don't know what to do."  
  
Her attention immediately snapped back to reality.  
  
"A lone guardian?" he said, apparently slightly confused.  
  
His expression quickly changed after that. Eyes narrowing and a scowl dominating his features.  
  
"What about the door?" he inquired sharply as his head jerked up, crimson eyes leveling on the door.  
  
Startled by his quick movements and the way he spoke his words, Yuffie fell back, and, with a slight grunt, landed hard on her rear end. The door before her was immediately ripped from it's hinges and flung aside like a flimsy piece of cardboard. There, silhouetted by the firelight, was a menacing and fully armed Vincent Valentine.  
  
His menacing scowl softened somewhat when he recognized her, but his finger was still curled tightly around the trigger of the Death Penalty as if he were preparing to shoot her.he instead slung the rifle around his back and, without a word, his metal hand shot out from beneath his cloak to grab and lift her with inhuman strength by the back of her collar.  
  
He carried her into the library and dropped her not too gently into one of the chairs. Vincent unslung his weapon and laid it on the table as he sat down across from her. He stared into her eyes.  
  
His piercing gaze made Yuffie impossibly uncomfortable, but she could find no strength to look away.  
  
"How much did you hear?" his question sounded more like a command than anything.  
  
Yuffie finally broke his gaze and looked to the floor. "Everything. I heard everything," she said quietly. When she looked back to his face, Vincent looked sad.  
  
"What's wrong, Vincent? Why are you talking to yourself?" she pleaded with him.  
  
"I speak not to myself, but to the thing inside me.," he answered, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Whenever I look into a mirror, I do not see myself, but Chaos."  
  
"How long?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"Ever since..." his voice trailed off and he shook his head. "It does not matter. He has been talking to me ever since I was first aware of his presence." He stared off into space as he continued to speak, "Back then, I was always too busy to pay any mind to what he told me, so he was easy to ignore, but now..."  
  
"Do you have any idea of what to do about my attacker?" Yuffie asked him, hoping to change the subject.  
  
Vincent sat back, appearing to be in deep thought. After a minute or so, he spoke.  
  
"We are leaving Nibelhiem. I have been planning a trip anyway. We must go to Cosmo Canyon and confer with Nanaki. Perhaps we can retrieve some information from his libraries, which are far more extensive than mine. Go, pack your things. We leave in the morning."----Author's Notes: This story is finally starting to shape up. After the next chapter, the plot will drasticly begin to pick up speed. I find the beginning to the middle of stories hard to write because I have to set the scene and work into my grand finale. I can say that the end will be a surprise. Also, I have at this point decided to write a sequel. Once again, please read and review. 


End file.
